Unusual Speaker Issue

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Level 1

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Unusual Speaker Issue

Well, I got my 3G S and activated it with no issue, but I should have known I wouldn't get away with no issues... (last two launched didn't exactly go smoothly as we all know).

The main speaker (not ear speaker) will sound as though it is blown out when it makes a sound after not making sound for a while, however any sounds that follow are played normally. Example: if I go into the Sounds menu and tap my text tone over and over, the first time it goes off will sound terrible, but then the next several times sound completely fine, just as my 3G sounded. If I stop for around 5 minutes, then repeat, the same thing happens.

Since I have no idea what could cause this, I was wondering if anyone else has any ideas or has experienced this on their 3G S?

iPhone 3G S, iPhone OS 3.0

Posted on Jun 19, 2009 4:19 PM

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Answer 1

byronb

Level 1

5 points

Jun 19, 2009 8:59 PM in response to Zoisite

phew... I'm glad I found this. I thought I was crazy or something. My new 3G S does the same EXACT thing. The fact that it only does it the first time makes me think it's likely a software bug. It doesn't seem to occur on my old 3G with the 3.0 software, so it must be something specific to the 3G S model.

It seems to be most noticable to me with the Tri-Tone alert (the one I use for SMS notification)...... Same for you?

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Answer 2

Jun 19, 2009 9:02 PM in response to Zoisite

Hi! Clearly you have been given a faulty iPhone. There's no problem with this because Apple WILL replace it. Simply book an appointment at a genius bar.. http://apple.com/retail/geniusbar and they will swap it over! Sorry you are experiencing these issues but it unfortunately does happen! 😟 Good luck 🙂

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Answer 3

cbr60096

Level 1

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Jun 19, 2009 9:10 PM in response to byronb

I would agree mine sounds very funny with the tri-tone when a text message comes in but ok when checked in settings. The ringer seems to vibrate too, except all the time, I use the standard phone ringer.

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Answer 4

surfnet

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0 points

Jun 19, 2009 9:26 PM in response to cbr60096

Yep. Bad speaker here too. Glad im not the only one. Almost sounds blown

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Answer 5

Zoisite Author

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0 points

Jun 19, 2009 9:55 PM in response to Zoisite

Good to see I'm not the only one with this issue. I'm going to run the white noise app all night tonight to see if the speaker can be "broken in" to resolve this issue. I'll report back on that tomorrow.

The real problem will be if this isn't correctable and I need to swap it at the apple store. I had an issue with my launch 3G as well, and after swapping it at the apple store I received a refurbished phone that had screen issues for the rest of the time that I had it. Anyone have any ideas on getting a brand new 3G S to replace this one? I would hope that there is some way that I can get a brand new unit to replace this, especially since this one is no more than 12 hours old.

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Answer 6

d_green

Level 1

35 points

Jun 19, 2009 10:08 PM in response to Zoisite

I thought it was my ears, but I hear the same thing. Like it's too loud and the speakers are distorted.
Man I always get the broken one, bummer. I can't tell you how many times I've returned an iPhone (2G and 3G).

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Answer 7

byronb

Level 1

5 points

Jun 20, 2009 6:39 AM in response to Zoisite

I need to walk down to the apple store this morning to pick up a couple things. I will test out all of the demo phones and see if I can reproduce iron them. I'll report back later on that.

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Answer 8

surfnet

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Jun 20, 2009 7:10 AM in response to byronb

Yes, Please let us know what you find. I cringe every time i get a text message. It sounds horrible.

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Answer 9

byronb

Level 1

5 points

Jun 20, 2009 8:04 AM in response to surfnet

Just about the walk out the door but I wanted to post something I found...

If you lower the ring volume (i put mine at about 25%), let it sit for 10-15min and then test out the Tri-tone sound.... it doesn't do it. So it seems like the software is just telling the first ring to be louder than it should which is causing it to be distorted. Lowering the master volume just brings it down low enough that the increased volume of the first Tri-tone ring is low enough to not be distorted.

Can a few of you try this and confirm that it works the same for you? If so, then it's clearly a software bug.

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Answer 10

surfnet

Level 1

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Jun 20, 2009 9:37 AM in response to byronb

I just pulled out my 3G and played the TRI-Tone back to back with my 3Gs and noticed 2 things. 1. The 3Gs is louder and 2. I hear distortion from my 3g also. BUT...Being that its not as loud maybe i don't notice the distortion as much? Just really sounds like they are pushing the speaker past its limit now.

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Answer 11

byronb

Level 1

5 points

Jun 20, 2009 9:40 AM in response to byronb

no luck at the apple store. it was a mad house still with tons of people mangling the demo phones. i did get my hands on one and I wasn't able to reproduce the issue but someone was playing with it before me so it's probably not a 1:1 test of what we're seeing.

just curious before I start trying drastic measures like full a full phone reset. Others that are having this problem are you...

1> Coming from a previous iPhone and if so, did you configure your new 3G S via a restore from your old iPhone? Also if so... what iPHone did you have previously (Original iPhone or 3G?)

2> Have you tried doing a 'Reset All Settings'? How about a 'Erase all Content and Settings'? If so.... does the issue still persist?

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Answer 12

Zoisite Author

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0 points

Jun 20, 2009 9:45 AM in response to byronb

I am coming off of a 3G, but I did not restore my 3G to my new 3G S. When I went from my original to my 3G, restoring from the original seemed to slow everything down, so I wanted to avoid that this time.

As for taking "drastic measures", I have already tried a full reset from the phone itself, a restore from iTunes, and even placing the phone in recovery mode and restoring it that way. None of these things helped. The issue is clearly physical. I am on hold with Apple Support now, though the wait time is 30 minutes, so this could be awhile. I'll post back with what they say.

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Answer 13

byronb

Level 1

5 points

Jun 20, 2009 9:48 AM in response to Zoisite

Zoisite wrote:
The issue is clearly physical.

You think? I'm leaning towards software... because I can't reproduce the distortion with playing music at max volume or even when I send two SMS messages to my self back to back (first one is distorted, but the second is not.)

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Answer 14

byronb

Level 1

5 points

Jun 20, 2009 9:50 AM in response to byronb

btw....

1> I backed up my old 3G iPhone when my new one arrived and plugged in my 3G S and chose to restore it from my backup.

2> I haven't tried any of the reset methods yet.

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Answer 15

Jun 20, 2009 9:53 AM in response to byronb

Same issue, and yes, same behavior. Also seems to do it for me when powering on, which makes sense as that'd be the first sound made...

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